Katie Goes To Inagural!

21 January, 2009

Okay, so I was in Washington State, and NOT Washington DC. But being that I am proud to live in a very liberal area, there was no shortage of events to commemorate the occasion-and one of the biggest in the Seattle area was held at the Paramount, a historic theatre right at the north end of downtown.

I knew that I had to get down there as early as possible, which was about 6:30. I had to get up at 5 AM to do my makeup and get ready and leave by 20 til, then catch my 348, and I got to Northgate RIGHT BEFORE a 41 bus arrived at the stop. The 41 is apparently one of, if not the, most used Metro route, with THOUSANDS of people taking it every day. It’s the quickest and most convenient way to get downtown from Northgate and sometimes, in the afternoon, there will be a bus headed up to Northgate every 7 to 10 minutes.

When I get down there, there’s already 200 people in line ahead of me, and the news crews there. At least it was only going to be about a half hour to wait. H&M was not as cold, but it was nearly four hours and well, it gets redundant. Today, well it was not only foggy, but cold as hell. And the line continued to grow-it stretched down Pike street from the Paramount over the freeway overpass, and onto Boren for a few blocks all the way to the Freeway Park. Yes, there is a freeway park here in Seattle.

At about 5 after 7, they start letting people in. We got lots of little freebies-Tazo 3-bag samplers, coupons for the new Tazo tea drinks at Starbucks, KOMO 4 pens and magnets, and a cookie. The cool thing was that there was a specialty Jones soda-Orange “You Glad For Change” Cola. $5 for a 4-pack and worth it because a) I needed caffeine, and b) I was not going to pay for an overpriced drink. I also collect the labels. I get to my seat, and it is WAY better than the Obama rally at Key Arena almost a year ago, because the seating is comfy, it’s warm, and I don’t sweat my jacket off. On the big screen was a stream of the ABC broadcast. And let’s just say, I screamed my ass off. My throat is SORE.

Probably the key moments, besides giving Obama a standing ovation every time he appeared and then him taking the oath of office, were the prayers and Biden. Rick Warren got booed out of the theatre-people calling him on his BS. I mean, I am a Christian but Rick Warren does not speak for me. Then, when Biden took the oath, everyone was happy because that meant “NO MORE CHENEY!!!”. Finally, you cannot forget the benediction from Joseph Lowery-I couldn’t hear half of it because people were laughing, but it got an ovation from the crowd of my fellow Seattleites.

After that, I had time to kill, so I figured I might as well hit Express to see if they had any good cheapies-and I got two. Granted, I got some spending cash. First was a lace bias-cut tiered tank, in a teal, for $6. I may have to get it in black…(dies) Then I got a HUGE brooch for $3.59. It’s a flower with 20 marquise cut rhinestones, one medium roundish, and about a hundred or so small round stones. It is a statement piece, almost 2″ in diameter. I could have gone broke on brooches…I am in love with them. So for about $10, I indulged.

And I am sitting here now, close to midnight here in Seattle, hoping I don’t get sick, and with my makeup still intact-using absolutely no primer. Wow, I am good.